Attack on Christian Visitors to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor

Attack on Christian Visitors to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II released the following message concerning today’s attack on Christian visitors to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor, Minya, Egypt

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.

On this day we have suffered for this attack which resulted in the death of many of our children, martyrs and wounded, as they were on their way to the monastery of the great Saint Samuel the confessor, in the wilderness of Qalamon. We suffer greatly because of such incidents, yet we still bid them farewell on the hope of the resurrection and we know that God the Pantocrator sees all things and governs everything in our lives. My condolences to all the families of the martyrs and the wounded, and on behalf of the Church and all Her organizations, we send our condolences, and are consoled with them, and pray that God may fill our hearts with heavenly comfort.

We also thank the head of the state, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for his call on which he sends his condolences to the families of the martyrs and the wounded. He also spoke about how Egypt, with its steadfastness and might, will overcome terrorism for we are the people of goodness, and seek after everything good and do not wish evil upon anyone. We also thank the ministers who have been concerned about this matter, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Social Solidarity, and for their efforts in providing health and social care with all their needs. We thank them and thank the physicians who have done their duty with the medical teams in more than one hospital.

We are continually in contact with the beloved bishops in the area of Minya, the monastery of St. Samuel, and Sohag; we communicate with their graces and with the servants to provide all that is needed for the wounded and to comfort the families of the martyrs.

We know that such incidents that afflict us, do not only affect us as Christians, but they affect the entire Egyptian society and we know that the most precious possession we have is our unity and our steadfastness. We know that such events increase solidarity in our life as in the past. Therefore, we also know that this incident increases our solidarity. We raise our hearts in prayers, and pray for the sake of those martyrs, and for the healing of the wounded, and for those who are concerned about this incident. We pray for the safety of our nation and the keeping of peace in it. We pray for the transgressors who are dazed, for in whatever grief, pain, distress and unhappiness they cause, they achieve nothing at all in our Egyptian society.

We trust in God, who cares for us and our nation and always guards us with His holy name. We trust all the officials, each in their responsibility and thank them. We pray that God will reward them with good things and pray for all His comfort to be poured into our hearts.